I decided it was time to get a better bra.
When my breasts had stopped growing, I had taken a guess at my size (36A) and had bought the only one I could find in that size, which does the job but is not too comfortable. Despite the small cup size, there is still too much room in there, and it is a "shaping" style so it's hard and unyielding.
(OK. If you must know, I have a date next weekend. I don't expect anything to "happen" but on the off chance it does, I'd like to be able to feel what's going on...)
I went to a store that I know does bra fittings. I won't say the name but it starts with "M" and rhymes with "Tracy's".
The lady measured me at a 38. I told her I was surprised because a 36 fit snugly so she agreed to try size 36 offerings. She brought a couple A-cup bras, all of which were similar to mine - heavily molded and not at all snug. She said they didn't have anything in the store that was smaller.
"When you have breasts that size, you're really hard to fit."
I have to confess I got annoyed at this. Rather than venting, I made a joke instead, about trying hard to get bigger breasts but not succeeding. She said that they do make 36AA bras but that the store didn't have any. At this point my frustration boiled over and I said. "Ah. So I'm in the wrong store." Yes, I know it was nasty, but no one puts down my breasts and gets away with it. She answered that she didn't think I'd find them anywhere but a specialty store.
With a heavy heart I walked across the mall to another, really expensive, store that I had heard also does bra fittings. The lady at Nordstrom measured my rib cage at a 33. "We'll try you on a 34," she tells me. "You'd be a B-cup." I asked whether she was sure. "We'll see," she answered.
She returned with a 34B bra that fit perfectly. It was soft and yielding and surrounded my breasts perfectly without wrinkle, pucker, or extra room. Not only did I find the perfect bra, but she give me a choice of several colors to choose from. The downside was that they were expensive, but I only really wanted one, and after my experience at the other store, I was happy to pay.
The moral of the story, I suppose, is that not everyone who measures women knows what they're doing and to try a couple stores before giving up.
